- Fiski - Fisheries Management -
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On the management of Cod and Haddock in the Irish Sea A report produced for the Anglo-North Irish Fish Producers Organisation Limited By Jon Kristjansson, August 2003 Introduction Official landings of Cod from the Irish sea have been declining in the recent years. As a result, measures have been taken to reduce cod fishing and a so called Cod recovery (conservation) plan is in force; Certain areas have been closed for cod fishing part of the year. Recently, ICES recommended closure of all fisheries for cod as a targeted species or by-catch. The fishermen maintain that both the cod- and the haddock stocks are in a good shape and such drastic measures are unnecessary. The question remains: Has the cod disappeared? If so, how can we get it back. If not, why this mismatch in opinions? In order to try to answear this question, the Anglo-North Irish Fish Producers Organisation Limited asked me to look through different scientific reports and to do a survey by questioning fishermen and scientists, go to sea, in order to experience the fishery myself. I was in Ireland 3-14 June to interview people and I spent four days fishing on the trawler 'Sparkling Sea' where I also collected age samples from cod and haddock. Later, the samples were prepared and analyzed in the laboratory.
Management advice The ICES advice on management of cod in 2003 was (ICES Cooperative Research Report No. 255): "Given the very low stock size, the recent poor recruitments, and continued high fishing mortality despite management efforts to promote stock recovery, ICES recommends a closure of all fisheries for cod as a targeted species or by-catch. In fisheries where cod comprises solely an incidental catch there should be stringent restrictions on the catch and discard rates of cod, with effective monitoring of compliance with those restrictions. These and other measures that may be implemented to promote stock recovery should be kept in place until there is clear evidence of the recovery of the stock to a size associated with a reasonable probability of good recruitment and there is evidence that productivity has improved. The current SSB is so far below historic stock sizes that both the biological dynamics of the stock and the operations of the fisheries are unknown, and therefore historic experience and data are not considered a reliable basis for medium-term forecasts of stock dynamics under various rebuilding scenarios." Relevant factors to be considered in management: "Although large short-term losses will be incurred in many Irish Sea fisheries, the advised measures are required if the cod stock is to reach a level where it can regain historic productivity. The advice will likely result in greatly reduced harvesting of other stocks where the fisheries take -1-